Business group sues to strike Texas’ anti-ESG investment ban

AUSTIN — A progressive business group has sued to strike a 2021 Texas law that banned the state from doing business with companies the state has deemed hostile to the fossil fuel industry.

The American Sustainable Business Council filed suit against Attorney General Ken Paxton and Comptroller Glenn Hegar, alleging that Senate Bill 13 violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments.

Paxton and Hegar did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The so-called anti-ESG law (which stands for environmental, social and governance) has led Texas to divest investments from 16 financial companies, including investment giant BlackRock, Inc. and UBS Group AG. Neither firm is a plaintiff in the suit.

“SB 13 is not just a misguided policy; it is an unconstitutional attack that stifles free speech and punishes businesses for prioritizing responsible investments,” said David Levine, president and co-founder of the American Sustainable Business Council. “By challenging SB 13, we aim to protect the rights of all businesses to operate freely and responsibly.”

The law came about in response to several investment companies adopting investment philosophies that prioritized environmental issues, social issues and corporate governance. BlackRock, which controls about $10.5 trillion in assets, was made a centerpiece of the political uproar in Texas after its CEO announced that it was turning away from oil and gas investments.

BlackRock’s CEO Larry Fink has signaled a willingness to make amends with Texas lawmakers by cohosting a natural gas investment symposium alongside Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick earlier this year in Houston. However, the company remains banned from doing business with Texas, according to the comptroller’s office.

The American Sustainable Business Council includes members Etho Capital and Sphere – investment firms that manage index funds focused on climate sustainability. The comptroller’s office has blacklisted “flagship investment funds” from each company, according to the lawsuit.

Since the law’s implementation, state funds such as the Permanent School Fund and Teacher Retirement System of Texas have unloaded billions of dollars in assets once managed by BlackRock and other companies banned from Texas. That has cost taxpayers about $1.5 billion in unrealized financial gains and increased interest payments on government loans, according to economists at the Perryman Group.

Democracy Forward, a progressive legal advocacy organization, is representing plaintiffs.

“Governor [Greg] Abbott should have never signed SB 13. The law is bad for Texas businesses and taxpayers and violates the U.S. Constitution,” said Skye Perryman, Democracy Forward’s CEO. “It is past time for Gov. Abbott, Lt. Gov. Patrick and their associates in the Texas legislature to prioritize the wellbeing of people in the state. Texas businesses, taxpayers, workers, and public employees will be better off if SB 13 is struck down.”